Scholars tell us that Joseph was a young man and Mary was a teen when she gave birth to the Savior of the world. The first chapter of the book of Luke tells of an angel of the Lord visiting Zacharias to let him know that he would be the father of John the Baptist and then appearing to Mary to notify her that she had been chosen to birth the Savior. Joseph and Faced challenges during her pregnancy and they were very much alone in their journey. Given time to ponder the situation, you have to wonder if Mary was truly aware of what was about to take place. Mary, did you know?

What about Joseph? People advised him to end his relationship with Mary because they thought she had been unfaithful to her betrothed. Joseph trusted the Lord and his fiance. Some difficult days lay ahead of this young couple because the world did not understand all that was happening. After all, it wasn’t his child.

You may recognize this Santa from an earlier post. He was part of a Coca Cola promotion in the mid/late 50’s. A friend of my parents worked in the Coca Cola bottling plant in Ada, OK and secured this item for my mother. The six-pack of Coke is a collector souvenir celebrating the University of Arkansas winning NCAA Championship in basketball.

Now if the image had been captured on film and set in the closet for thirty years, it might look something like this.

I love Photoshop Elements. Have a blessed day.

Promise Made:“For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty god, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6)

Promise Kept:“And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of heavenly host praising God and saying: Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men.” (Luke 2:13-14)

Bonus Track: Friday night we attended the Gaither Homecoming Christmas concert in Tulsa, OK. The season 12 winner of the Voice, Chris Blue was a featured guest. He is an amazing vocalist. I did a little searching and found this show stopper. There is so much truth in this song. We are asked to prove our worth in this world by keeping our resume up to date on all of our accomplishments, with the hope of climbing some ladder to the next best thing. The truth is, everything I have ever done is simply a testimony of what God has done in me and through me. Christ makes it very clear in John 15:5, “I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abides in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from Me, you can do nothing.” At birth, God breathes the breath of life into us and apart from Him we are incapable of inhaling and exhaling. “I Can’t Even Walk Without You Holding My Hand”. Have a blessed week.

This figurine was on display and Dillard’s department store Rogers, AR.

This is a decorative gift box I found on a shelf at Marshall’s/Homegoods.

Christmas 2007

2024

Watching the grandcrew grow into young adults has been a special blessing. We live in the same town so we have seen all of those memory making moments throught the years. Some of you have seen my special tree that is covered with unique ornaments and this year I am something new. The kids have given me a Christmas ornament from their colleges.

From left to right this ornament represents our middle grand daughter who received her masters degree in sports therapy & training this past spring. She will be heading to Mesa, AZ to join the staff of the Athletics major league baseball team in January.

This ornament comes from the “Big Guy” who chose trade school and is now an electrical lineman in a nearby town. Think of him the next time severe weather or an ice storm knocks out your power and you see those trucks headed out to restore power to local residents.

This ornament represents the oldest grand daughter who received her Bachelor of Elementary Education and has been teaching kindergarten or six years. She loves her littles.

Finally this happy snowman represents our student athlete who graduated from Southern Arkansas this past spring with a Bachelors degree in Sports Therapy. She is working as a personal trainer in a local fitness facility.

God has been very good to our family and we are ever grateful for His love, mercy, and grace. Christmas is a special time around our house as we celebrate the birth of the Savior.

Christmas 2007

Among those who worshiped the one true Living God, the birth of Christ should not have been a surprise. It should have been anticipated and an event worthy of praise and great joy. The prophets of God had been telling of the coming of the Messiah for centuries.

Genesis 3:15 promised, through the seed of man, that the head of the serpent would be bruised. Isaiah 7:14 gives us the details of the events that will occur centuries later in the second chapter of Luke, “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: a virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and call His name Immanuel.” In the ninth chapter of Isaiah we are given more details about this Son of the Living God, “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given and the government will be upon His shoulder, and His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6). The following verse tells us the King of kings will be a decedent of David and His kingdom will never end, “Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His Kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever.” That day is coming. Luke told us that the event described in Isaiah 7:14 was marked by a star and it was seen by many, some of whom had been looking for that day. There was a New Star Shining.